Insights From Recent Disaster Responses to Hurricanes

Picture: Tara Terry

As the Air Care Alliance, Emergency Volunteer Air Corps, Aerobridge and many other groups responded and are continuing to respond to the aftermath of the recent hurricanes there are some things we can learn that hopefully will allow the West Coast to be better prepared for what is coming from the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault.

One of the big ones is that General Aviation has an important role to play and really has always been there right alongside the military resources. Taking this into account and planning for that for the west coast becomes very important if we want the least loss of life and fastest recovery possible. Below is a web site to the Pegasus flying boat that just finished its second run and delivered a 5,000 pound load of medical supplies to St. Thomas.

http://www.seaplanecrossings.org/reliefEfforts.html

This link goes to a story on multiple groups assisting since Harvey made land fall and have been going nonstop in assisting in the current relief efforts.

When talking supplies one aspect that can improve response time is making a pre-loaded list. With all the knowledge we’ve gained about how earthquakes behave, the North West’s vulnerabilities due to topography and how severe this is going to be, having a top 10 medical needs list and a top 10 everything else got to have needs list is something that should be very doable. Having it so that it can quickly go to the pilot groups responding and the standard resources can cut response time by days.

That part does take time though and means communities likely to be isolated start organizing and knowing what they have and what they likely will need. In that both Clallam County and Jefferson County in Washington are truly being leaders in taking care of their communities. Previous Coverage In News

Another aspect that has been interesting to watch and see is the much greater role social media like Facebook and even texting plays in the relief efforts right alongside the use of email and phone. Together the 4 forms provide an expanded means to get critical information across that can make a difference.

An additional aspect is training beforehand to ensure that everyone is on each other’s radar so to speak. Many times there can be resources that could provide invaluable assistance, but simply because they aren’t known to the responding agencies or realize that they could be of assistance the connection isn’t made.

Picture: Tara Terry

Again though, this is just one person’s viewpoint from having had the opportunity through the Emergency Volunteer Air Corps, Air Care Alliance and Aerobridge to be a small part of the massive undertaking that is occurring as we speak. To General Aviation, Military and everyone that is responding to all these ongoing disasters thank you for all you are doing as you are making an incredible difference.

Sky Terry is a Contributing Editor here at Seaplanemagazine.com. He writes on topics concerning the use of Seaplanes and Flying Boats in Emergency & Disaster Relief.